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UVM's Eriksson connects to Iceland's Euro fairy tale

Loftur Eriksson, second from left, and Vermont celebrate with the championship trophy during the America East men's soccer championship win over Binghamton at Virtue Field last November. Eriksson's native Iceland is in the Euro 2016 quarterfinals in France on Sunday.(Photo: FREE PRESS FILE)Buy Photo

“I don’t know if the numbers are accurate but I think it’s pretty close, though,” Eriksson said via video chat from Akureyri, Iceland. “It doesn’t matter what it is, I think Iceland always stands behind their people. We’re a really proud country of what we stand for and it definitely shows with the guys.”

Iceland’s national team had never qualified for a major international tournament before this year but has seen a remarkable rise in the last decade. The squad lost to Croatia 2-0 over a two-game playoff for a spot in the last World Cup.

So escaping the group stage at Euro 2016, then toppling a traditional international soccer power is the sporting equivalent of landing on the moon.

“This is probably like the biggest sports event that has ever happened in the history of Iceland,” Eriksson said. “This is so huge. It’s actually way bigger than you can imagine.”

Eriksson hails from Saudarkrokur, a town of roughly 2,000 people on the northwest coast of the country. He said he played against one member of the national squad, defender Sverrir Ingi Ingason, growing up.

Another player, midfielder Rúnar Már Sigurjónsson, is a family friend.

“He actually grew up with my brother, they’re best friends,” said Eriksson, who will be joined by three more Icelandic players on the Catamounts’ roster this fall.

What Iceland and its fans have brought to the spotlight has left as much of an impression as the soccer.

There is the “Viking roar,” as Eriksson called it, where the fans slow-clap in unison, letting out a guttural cheer each time — and it gets better when the team wins.

“The players come into the corner and do it with the fans,” Eriksson said. “When I was watching the game I think it was five or six guys together, we stood up and did it with them as well. At home.”

On the field, the team’s spirit has proven to be the X-factor and an undeniable reason why Iceland is still unbeaten in the tournament.

“I think all of the countries are missing what we have and that’s the pride of never giving up,” Eriksson said. “I don’t know how to describe it, it’s like everybody is on the same page and so willing to work for each other, they drive each other forward. The chemistry is just indescribable. You can see it on the pitch: Everybody is running for each other.”

Up next for the Iceland, however, is its biggest test yet.

Host France, stocked with world-class talent, is the opponent for Sunday’s quarterfinal game at the national stadium in Saint-Denis.

“We showed that we can play against the big countries,” Eriksson said. “And with the same formation and same tactics we’ve been playing through the whole qualification, the group stage and against England, we can definitely beat France.”

Contact Austin Danforth at 651-4851 or edanforth@freepressmedia.com. Follow him on Twitter at www.twitter.com/eadanforth